Time to be Honest
by yintotheyang
Summary: AU JoLu one shot


A/N – Hey everyone! Here's a little one shot for your reading pleasure. It has some angst, but if you don't like that, don't blame me. Vee helped me with the idea. LOL! Seriously, she did, so shout out to her! Thanks to everyone for reading and leave me a review!

**Time to be Honest**

"What's wrong, baby?" Johnny asked, fixing his tie in the mirror.

Lulu sighed and took a seat on the bed, finding his eyes in the reflection of the mirror.

"This is your second dinner meeting this week," Lulu shrugged. "I used to go to these things with you."

"Yeah, but they were both last minute," Johnny noted, turning around to face her. "It would be hard to find a sitter for Jayden."

"Speaking of our son, did you tell him you were missing pizza night for the second week in a row?" Lulu wondered.

"Can't you tell him?" Johnny questioned. "I hate disappointing him."

"But it's okay if I do, right?" Lulu countered, rolling her eyes.

"That's not what I was saying, but never mind," Johnny groaned. "I'll tell him. You don't have to get upset about it."

"Right, just like I shouldn't get upset that you're working late all the time and going to mysterious business dinners that I'm not allowed to go to," Lulu muttered.

"Are you trying to accuse me of something?" Johnny asked.

"Should I be?" Lulu wondered.

"I don't even know how to react to this," Johnny said angrily. "My initial thought is just to yell and scream, but I don't want to do that."

"Why would it be different this time than all the other fights we've had lately?" Lulu questioned, standing up. "You did a lot of yelling and screaming during all of those, so why change now?"

"Well, I'm only trying to keep up with you," Johnny replied, raising his voice. "You're the one who has picked every single fight."

"It's always my fault," Lulu yelled. "I'm sure if you are cheating on me, that's my fault, too."

"You need to stop," Johnny warned. "I can't believe I'm having to say this, but I'm not seeing someone else or getting any on the side. You are the woman that I love and I would _**never**_ betray you or our family that way."

"If you care so much about our family, why aren't you here more?" Lulu wondered. "Jayden asked me to play catch with him the other day so he didn't forget how before the next time you had time to play with him."

"Maybe I don't like being here because when I am, all I get is crap about how I'm not here enough," Johnny answered. "I'm trying to earn a living for our family and instead of appreciating it, all you can do is complain to me about all the inconveniences that come along with my job."

"I'm sorry I don't appreciate you, Johnny," Lulu said sarcastically. "I mean, I should be counting my blessings that the great Johnny Zacchara settled for little old me."

Johnny sighed and covered his face with his hands, realizing that just like all the other times lately, he and Lulu weren't getting anywhere. It was like the fight they had been having for the last two weeks was never going to end.

"Mommy," a small voice said, peering into the room.

"Jayden, I thought you were coloring downstairs," Lulu said, walking past Johnny and over to their son.

"I heard you and daddy yelling," Jayden admitted. "I just wanted to make sure you're okay."

"Of course we are, buddy," Lulu replied, kneeling down to his level.

"Daddy?" Jayden asked, looking to Johnny.

"Come here," Johnny said, holding his arms out.

Jayden ran into his father's arms and Johnny scooped him up and held him close. He sat down on the bed and ruffled Jayden's hair, smiling at him.

"Who do I love more than anyone or anything in this world?" Johnny asked.

"Me and mommy," Jayden said softly.

"And when is that going to change?" Johnny wondered.

"Never," Jayden answered, a smile coming to his face.

"You got it, little man," Johnny nodded. "Mommy and I were just arguing a little because the mean men that I work with are making me go eat with them tonight."

"No fair!" Jayden said indignantly.

"I know," Johnny agreed. "But I have to. Like how you have to eat your vegetables."

"Okay," Jayden sighed. "Are you and mommy going to make up before you leave?"

"Jayden, you don't have to worry about us," Lulu said, coming over to them.

"Promise?" Jayden asked, looking between his parents.

"Promise," Johnny nodded, tickling him lightly.

Jayden giggled and then jumped down from his father's lap, racing for the door. He ran downstairs, eager to get back to his coloring, but froze at the bottom of the steps when he heard the door to his parent's room slam shut. He didn't want to think his parents were breaking their promise, but he knew the slamming door meant they would fight more. They did that a lot lately.

Jayden knew that if his dad left tonight, his mom would only be more upset. Pizza night would be ruined like last week and he didn't want that. He wanted his whole family to be happy like they used to be, so he began to think of ways to make that happen. An idea hit him like a lightning bolt and he rushed to the phone, which he had just learned how to use. He dialed the secret code number his mom had told him about and waited for the man on the other end to answer. After he finished the conversation, he smiled in satisfaction and went back to his coloring.

"You're going to be late," Lulu noted, breaking the silence that had fallen between them after Jayden had left the room.

Lulu was positioned with her back to the door and Johnny was still seated on the bed.

"I thought you didn't want me to go," Johnny replied. "You did slam the door behind Jayden after he left the room."

"I thought we were going to fight, I didn't want him hearing anything else," Lulu offered.

"I'm not going to fight with you about this anymore," Johnny said simply. "If a five year old can understand that sometimes I have to work, you should be able to understand as well."

"So I'm stupid now?" Lulu asked.

"Dammit, Lulu," Johnny groaned, standing up. "You take everything I say and you twist it so you can be angry at me. I can't win for losing."

"Nobody is winning or losing here, Johnny," Lulu muttered. "We're all just unhappy lately. I'm not sure whose fault it is, but I want it to stop. I don't want our son to grow up in a house where his parents fight all the time."

"I don't want to fight," Johnny said softly, moving closer to her. "At least not like this where we fight and never make up. I haven't made love to you in far too long."

"It's my fault, I've been-" Lulu tried.

"No," Johnny said, reaching out and putting a finger to her lips. "It's nobody's fault. Look, I really am going to be late and as much as I would love to back out of this dinner, I think that might get me fired. But when I get home-"

"We'll talk," Lulu finished. "No yelling or screaming. Just talking."

"Or not talking," Johnny smirked, wrapping his arms around her.

"Depends on you getting home at a decent hour," Lulu replied, looping her arms around his neck.

"Fair enough," Johnny whispered, placing a short kiss to her lips. "I better go."

"Don't forget to kiss Jayden goodnight, he'll probably be in bed before you get home," Lulu instructed.

"I will," Johnny smiled, opening the door and heading downstairs.

He made his way into the living room and smiled automatically as his son came into view. He could watch him forever and always be happy.

"Buddy, I'm taking off," Johnny called.

"Bye!" Jayden replied, not looking up from his coloring book.

"Can I at least get a hug?" Johnny wondered.

"I'm busy," Jayden answered, not moving from his spot.

Johnny laughed and shook his head, walking over to him and picking him up. Jayden squealed in surprise and Johnny tickled him like he had earlier.

"Give me my hug," Johnny demanded, tickling him harder.

"No!" Jayden called out, squirming and trying to get free.

"Yes!" Johnny countered, continuing his attack.

"I c-can't," Jayden laughed. "Not if you-you're tickling m-me!"

Johnny paused mid-tickle and Jayden finally calmed down. When he could finally breathe normally, he hugged Johnny tightly, squeezing as tight as he could.

"I love you, daddy," Jayden whispered.

"I love you, too," Johnny replied.

He gave his son a kiss on the top of the head and placed him back in his spot on the couch. The doorbell rang and Johnny frowned in confusion as to who could be visiting. He walked over to the door and opened it to find a pizza delivery man carrying a large bag.

"Good evening, sir," the delivery man smiled. "That's going to be 108 dollars even."

"Excuse me?" Johnny asked.

"Your total for the ten pizzas you ordered," he clarified.

"Lu!" Johnny yelled. "Get down here, please!"

"You look angry," the delivery man noted.

"Well, I don't believe we ordered these pizzas, but I'm going to check with my wife," Johnny muttered. "And I need to see the receipt."

"Yes, sir," the delivery man nodded, reaching for the receipt.

"What's going on?" Lulu asked, coming down the stairs.

"Someone in this house ordered ten, large, cheese pizzas," Johnny frowned, reading over the receipt. "I'm guessing it wasn't you."

"Of course not, but who-" Lulu said, stopping herself. "Jayden Lucas!"

Both Johnny and Lulu turned to see Jayden frowning in fear as his mother used his middle name.

"I just wanted-" Jayden tried.

"Don't!" Johnny said sternly. "Go to your room."

Jayden nodded and ran up the stairs, bursting into tears halfway up, but continuing on until he got to his room.

"That was harsh," Lulu frowned, looking at Johnny.

"He used the phone without our permission and ordered ten pizzas," Johnny reminded her.

"Speaking of," the delivery man spoke up. "I have other deliveries and I really need to get the money and go."

"Of course," Johnny muttered, pulling out his wallet. "Baby, I'm gonna need your help with this. I don't have that much cash."

"Okay, let me get my purse," Lulu sighed.

Between the two of them, they managed to scrounge up enough cash to pay for the pizzas and cover an adequate tip for the poor delivery man. They took the pizzas to the kitchen and Johnny called his boss to explain that he wouldn't be able to make the dinner. Lulu took a seat at the dining room table, just staring at the pizzas as she waited for him to finish.

"I know, I'm sorry, but Jayden is really sick," Johnny lied. "I just can't leave Lulu alone when he's this bad and I would never forgive myself if something happened because I wasn't here."

Lulu shook her head as he finished the call, knowing that he had to lie because the truth would sound like a lie anyway. Whose son managed to order ten pizzas without someone getting suspicious? Only theirs.

"We should have never had kids," Johnny muttered after he hung up.

"What?" Lulu asked.

"He's five and he's already scheming," Johnny laughed. "We've always said he's the perfect mix of both of us when it comes to his physical features. What if he mixes your taste for conning with my love of danger?"

"We should have never had kids," Lulu realized, laughing along with Johnny.

"Let's go talk to him," Johnny suggested, holding his hands out to her.

"Shouldn't we think up a punishment first?" Lulu wondered, letting him pull her to her feet.

"First I want to hear his explanation," Johnny replied.

"I'm sure it will be good," Lulu giggled.

They walked upstairs and peeked into Jayden's room. The young boy was still crying and had his head buried in his pillow.

"Jayden," Lulu said softly, making him look up.

The sight of his tear-streaked face broke both of their hearts and made it impossible for them to be angry. The kid had them whipped, but luckily, he didn't know it.

"I'm sorry!" Jayden sobbed, reaching for his mother.

She took him in her arms and sat down on the bed, giving Johnny a look that let him know he wasn't alone in wanting to forget punishment on this offense.

"Shh," Lulu soothed, rubbing his back. "It's okay, buddy."

"I ju-just wanted daddy to stay," Jayden sniffed. "I thought if we had enough pizza, he could have his dinner here."

Jayden began crying again and Johnny shut his eyes, not being able to watch his son in pain, especially knowing he was the reason behind it.

"Honey, daddy was going to come back," Lulu reasoned, trying to calm the little boy in her arms. "It was just one meal."

"Then h-how come you two were f-fighting so much about it?" Jayden asked.

Jayden looked between his parents, but neither had an answer for him. They both realized at the same time that they had been acting ridiculous the past few weeks and their son was paying the price.

"Adults can be silly sometimes," Johnny offered. "Mommy and I, sometimes we let silly things get in the way of what matters most."

"Yeah," Lulu agreed. "Because what really matters is that we love each other. And we love you."

"We love you so much, little man," Johnny smiled. "I'm sorry that our fighting worried you. I promise, we're going to try not to fight anymore."

"Not ever?" Jayden questioned hopefully.

"We're going to try," Johnny nodded. "But sometimes we can't help it. You know how it is when sometimes you just can't help getting a little mad, right?"

"Yeah," Jayden answered.

"Well, you get that from daddy," Lulu said, smiling at Johnny. "And maybe a little from me."

"But I don't want you to get mad at each other," Jayden said softly. "Or get mad at me."

"Here's what you need to know," Johnny said seriously. "I can never be mad at you or mommy forever. But I promise, I will love you forever."

"Same goes for me," Lulu agreed. "And you're going to love us forever, right?"

Jayden nodded and reached out to hug Johnny as he continued holding onto his mom with one hand. They held him and reached for each other as well, smiling at each other. They stayed that way for several minutes and finally Jayden let go, wiping his eyes.

"Can I have some pizza?" Jayden asked meekly.

"You better," Lulu laughed. "And while you're eating, we can talk about the punishment you'll be receiving for using the phone without our permission."

"Okay," Jayden sighed.

"I thought we were going to talk tonight," Johnny noted, looking in at Lulu sitting next to Jayden's bed. "You've been in here for awhile."

"I've just been thinking about us," Lulu explained, beckoning him into the room. "Do you remember when I got pregnant?"

"Are you kidding?" Johnny asked, crouching down next to her. "I caught you with that pregnancy test and you tried to lie and say it was Carly's because you thought I would be mad."

"I wasn't sure we could be parents," Lulu admitted. "We were young and had only been married for six months. I thought we would ruin our child's life."

"I think we've done pretty well," Johnny replied.

"Most of the time, but lately..." Lulu muttered.

"Lately we've been hurting each other and our son," Johnny agreed.

"He deserves better than this," Lulu whispered, running her hand through the hair of her sleeping little boy.

"So let's go fix us," Johnny suggested.

"Okay," Lulu smiled.

They both kissed Jayden's forehead before leaving and then headed to their bedroom. Johnny closed the door behind them and immediately wrapped his arms around her from behind. She leaned back into him as he pressed his lips to the back of her neck.

"I owe you so many apologies, baby," Johnny said softly, burying his face in her neck.

"I should be more understanding," Lulu sighed. "You have to work and sometimes it's going to take more of your time."

"It's not the working that was upsetting you, and I know that," Johnny replied, turning her to face him. "I haven't been the husband I used to be to you lately. I don't tell you enough how beautiful you are or how lucky I know that I am to get to call you my wife. I should tell you and do things to make sure you know that I love you every second of every day."

"Johnny," Lulu muttered, tears coming to her eyes.

"Lulu, I love you and I could not live without you and Jayden in my life," Johnny said, holding her face in his hands. "If I'm not making that clear to you, I'm screwing up in the worst way. If I lost the two of you-"

"You won't," Lulu promised. "I love you so much, Johnny. I could never leave you. And I would never take Jayden away from you."

"But do you know how much I love you?" Johnny wondered. "I need you to know."

"I imagine it's like how I love you," Lulu smiled. "Like you're the blood in my veins and I would die if I lost you."

"Yeah," Johnny nodded, pulling her closer. "And more than that, something I don't know how to put into words. It's just this amazing feeling I get when I'm holding you like this and looking in those amazing eyes of yours. Like nothing bad can happen to me as long as I'm holding on to you."

"Take your shirt off," Lulu ordered.

Johnny laughed and stepped back, following her instructions. She smiled at the sight of him and ran her fingers down his chest and his abs and smiled as he sighed in pleasure.

"Do you remember the first time we made love?" Lulu asked softly, trailing her fingers back up his body.

"Like it was yesterday," Johnny smiled, grabbing her wrists and bringing her hands to his lips so he could kiss the tops of them. "We took it so slow, I thought for awhile I was never going to have you."

"I want to do that tonight," Lulu murmured, her eyes closing as Johnny began layering kisses up her arms. "Let's just lock the door and take our time with each other."

"Sounds good," Johnny agreed, placing a kiss on her lips.

"Mm," Lulu groaned, pulling away before he could deepen the kiss. "Slow."

"You make it impossible," Johnny whispered, turning around to lock the door.

"So I shouldn't put on some lingerie for tonight?" Lulu wondered, pressing her palms to his back and kissing his shoulder.

"Not if you want me to show restraint," Johnny muttered, leaning his head against the door as Lulu continued kissing his back.

"I want to be sexy for you, though," Lulu replied, letting her hands glide to his abs.

"Baby," Johnny laughed, turning to face her. "You're the sexiest woman on this earth. In lingerie or in your mom jeans."

"I don't have mom jeans!" Lulu said, slapping his chest.

"Ouch," Johnny chuckled, reaching out for her.

"I don't have mom jeans," Lulu pouted.

"I like them," Johnny smiled, caressing her jean clad thighs. "They make me want you more."

"These are not mom jeans," Lulu argued as Johnny's hands continued to massage her legs through her clothes.

"Fine," Johnny relented. "Just don't stop wearing them."

Lulu giggled as Johnny quickly picked her up into his arms and carried her to the bed. He laid her down beneath him and let his lips attack her neck.

"Johnny," Lulu whispered, running her hands through his hair.

"Hm?" Johnny wondered, continuing his ministrations.

"I love you," Lulu said softly.

"I love you, too," Johnny replied, pulling away to look in her eyes.

"Let's try not to fight anymore," Lulu suggested. "Not just for Jayden but for us. I want to be happy like I am right now all the time."

"Then let's promise each other something," Johnny said, kissing her chastely. "Let's always speak up the second something bothers us. If you think I'm working too much, just tell me."

"And if you don't feel appreciated from time to time, I want to know," Lulu agreed.

"Deal," Johnny nodded, kissing her again.

"Deal," Lulu repeated before kissing him deeply.

"Work is going to suck for you today," Lulu muttered, snuggling close to Johnny. "You didn't get any sleep last night."

"I was thinking about that," Johnny replied, kissing the top of her head lightly. "Maybe I caught what Jayden had."

"Oh, that's awful!" Lulu said, playing along. "You'll have to be in bed all day."

"Any chance I'll have some company?" Johnny wondered.

"We have a little boy who would get into way too much trouble if you and I spent the day in bed," Lulu giggled.

"You know, if I'm taking a day off, I should spend it with Jayden," Johnny said thoughtfully. "Playing catch and doing whatever he wants."

"I think that's a great idea," Lulu smiled, glancing up at her husband. "As long as I still get some attention, too."

"Baby, you can have all the attention you want," Johnny promised, rolling over to pin her beneath him yet again.

He bent to kiss her and Lulu sighed into his mouth, allowing him to deepen their kiss. They had been up all night talking and making love and it seemed that Johnny wanted to continue that pattern by ravaging her again. Lulu was more than happy to let him.

"Wow," Lulu sighed, glancing over to Johnny as he tried to steady his breathing. "That's gotta be a new record for us."

"Who says married couples can't have great sex?" Johnny joked.

Lulu giggled, but stifled her laughter when she heard a knock at their bedroom door. She got out of bed quickly, running to her dresser to pull out some pajamas for her and Johnny.

"Mommy? Daddy?" Jayden called through the door. "I can't get in."

"Coming, buddy," Lulu replied, checking to make sure Johnny had dressed before going over to the door.

"Surprise!" Jayden said as the door swung open.

Johnny moved to see what his son was surprising them with and he couldn't help but laugh when he saw the pizza box in Jayden's hands.

"What's this?" Lulu asked.

"Breakfast in bed!" Jayden answered excitedly.

"Well, let's all get in bed, then!" Johnny suggested.

Lulu took the pizza from Jayden as he ran and jumped in the middle of their bed. Johnny grabbed him and threw him in the air immediately and Jayden squealed loudly in delight. Lulu shook her head and waited for her boys to settle down before she joined them on the bed and opened the box of pizza.

They ate in silence, but Jayden, as young as he was, could tell that everything was finally perfect in his family again. He could see the love in his parent's eyes as they glanced at each other occasionally. Their happiness made him happy and all he ever wanted was to be happy and eat pizza with his mom and dad.


End file.
